Monday 5 December 2011

December 2011 - KPFoundation Charity Song


Eden Voices have released a song with Katie Piper Foundation Ambassador, Adele Pope, to raise money for the charity, which aims to increase awareness and support for burns survivors. Jai Ramage, Eden Voices Vocal Coach taught Adele three years ago when she studied at Tring Park: School for the Performing Arts and organised an ensemble to accompany Adele in a version of Billy Steinberg's 'True Colours' which is now available from itunes.
Adele Pope met Katie during filming for the Mentorn Media produced series, Katie: My Beautiful Friends in 2011. The programme, shown on Channel 4, followed Katie Piper as she set out to help re build the confidence of people who, like her, were fighting for normality while living with a potentially devastating disfigurement. Ballet student Adele suffered an epileptic fit in the shower, knocking the tap as she fell, and was left with third degree burns covering 46 per cent of her body. She is now an Ambassador for the Katie Piper Foundation is studying at Durham University and True Colours is her recording debut.

Adele said “I feel so privileged to be a part of this project and I have loved every second of the recording process. My hope is that this single will make a difference in two ways – firstly to raise as much money as we can for the Katie Piper Foundation; secondly I hope that by downloading the single, the public will have a chance to show their support for the struggle that burns survivors and people with disfigurements have to face every day. That feeling of mass support and acceptance might even do some good on its own!”
Jai said, “After being incredibly moved watching Adele tell her story on Katie: My Beautiful Friends, I was motivated to support the Foundation. I suggested the idea of recording a charity single to my Eden Voices singers – the response I had from them was overwhelming – many of them have read Katie’s book, seen the programme and so were eager to get involved. It felt right that Adele should sing the song, being a great singer and an ambassador for the charity, everyone was so excited when she agreed!”
The Katie Piper Foundation is ultimately working towards the delivery of an advanced rehabilitation and burns clinic in the UK but in the meantime is working on smaller scale projects, workshops and online support groups to make it easier for survivors to live with burns and scars.
Katie Piper said: “I was absolutely thrilled that Eden Voices wanted to support the charity, and delighted our ambassador did a Solo on the song. When I watched the video I thought the choice of the song was so fitting. I found it extremely moving, as she’s [Adele] a great singer, and it all fitted perfectly with the beautiful sound of the Eden Voices singers. It’s great to see so many people coming together to support the cause, I’m really proud of Adele and I hope people will support the charity by downloading the single.”
KATIE PIPER FOUNDATION, Registered Charity Number 1133313

Thursday 24 November 2011

November 2011 - Bar Italia (Everyone's A Star)

Our Eden Voices backing vocals have been taken one step further....
Here is a new version of 'Bar Italia' with Ray Gelato by The Soho Hobo and it shows off
 our very own Zoe Demetriou and her high notes!


You can  download the track from itunes at: 


Thursday 20 October 2011

October 2011 - Tony Christie's Charity Single

Tony Christie has recorded a single for the charity Afghan Heroes.
It is a beautiful rework of his single 'Steal The Sun' incorporating 
the Band of the Royal Marines. 
Conducted and arranged by Steve Sidwell and produced at 
George Martin's Air studios. 
I had the pleasure of singing with the choir on the track and would love it if you
 download the single and support the cause.
 many thanks, Jai


Here is a preview, it is ready for download from 24th October and I will link you 
to the download then.




Conductor: www.stevesidwell.com
Recording Studio: www.airstudios.com
Charity: www.afghanheroes.org.uk

Friday 7 October 2011

October 2011 - Cabaret at the Cellar Bar

Golden Ratio presents...Cabaret at the Cellar Bar
Leading West End performers quench your thirst for cabaret at The Cellar Bar 
on the second Sunday of every month


On Sunday 9th October Eden Voices singer, and lead in 'Mamma Mia', Dani De Waal headlined a cabaret at the Cellar Bar in South Hill Park, Bracknell. To add a double dose of Eden Voices we had a trio supporting Dani with a vintage set. They sang  great songs such as Chatanooga Choo Choo, Moonlight Serenade, Bugle Boy, Rain or Shine & In The Mood in three part harmony. An enjoyably vintage evening!


Vintage Trio
Photo: Monserrat Rubio


Photo: Monserrat Rubio












Get your tickets now for future cabarets!

Tickets: £10
Venue: www.southhillpark.org.uk
Box Office: 01344 484123

September 2011 - In Session with Ray Gelato

Eden Voices took six singers to the famous Kore Studios in London to record some backing vocals for the wonderful musician Ray Gelato. The song 'Bar Italia', written by Gelato and produced by the amazing Tim Arnold, will be released soon but her is a sneak preview for you. 
A thoroughly enjoyable and relaxed recording session!




Here is Ray in action with his band...


With Ray at Kore Studios






Ray Gelato: www.raygelato.com
Recording Studio: www.kore-studios.com
Producer: www.timarnold.co.uk

September 2011 - Recording the Charity Single

In September we recorded our charity single in aid of The Katie Piper Foundation. Adele Pope, who featured in the C4 series 'My Beautiful Friends' alongside Katie Piper, kindly lent us her beautiful voice for the lead vocal and was backed by a choir of Eden Voices singers. We rehearsed the song 'True Colours' as chosen by Fleur Baikie our competition winner (thank you Fleur for your wonderful suggestion!) and celebrated the occasion afterwards with a champagne reception at Adventure Bar in Covent Garden. The singers had a few days to digest their harmonies and then they were in the recording studio to record it with the help and guidance of Supernature Music and our Musical Director Simon Sharp. The song is being edited at the moment and all involved are really looking forward to it being available for you to download and start raising some money for the cause.
Eden Voices singers in rehearsal
Photo: ShotBySparrow.com



I would like to say a personal thank you to Adele and the Eden Voices ladies, Simon (musical director), Steve and Mark (technical crew), Claire (photographer) and Adventure Bar (venue) for all being involved in making this project happen. 

Friday 5 August 2011

August 2011 - Our New Rehearsal Studio

We now have our very own rehearsal studio in Covent Garden, right in the heart of London's theatreland! The location could not be better and complete with mirrors and piano we are ready to sing!

If you would like to hire our studio when we are not using it 
please get in touch for more details.



The studio is 4 x 4m and has mirrors, a piano, 
8 rehearsal chairs and its own toilet.
It would be suitable for coaching, casting, rehearsing 
and even one to one pilates and massage.
Rates start at the very reasonable price of £12.50 per hour.

Saturday 2 July 2011

July 2011 - Competition, Eden Voices Charity Single for The Katie Piper Foundation

In September Eden Voices are recording a single to raise money for 'The Katie Piper Foundation' set up by Katie Piper to increase awareness and support for burns victims. Simon Cowell, Patron of the foundation, said 'Katie is a brave, talented and determined and I think what she’s doing with the Katie Piper Foundation is incredible.’ We at Eden Voices couldn’t agree more and have decided to record a single for download where all the proceeds go to the Foundation. We will cover all production costs to maximize the financial donation to the charity.
Adele Pope
Photo: Ray Burmiston

We are honoured that Adele Pope, who featured in the C4 series ‘My Beautiful Friends’ with Katie Piper and is an ambassador of the charity, has agreed to come and sing it for us backed by a choir of our Eden Voices singers. When we asked her if she would like to sing on the single she said 'it really means a lot when people genuinely want to help, and it's even better when you can make a difference by singing!' 

So, here is where you come in...as yet, we haven’t chosen a song to record and we need your help to choose one!!!

COMPETITION!!

What you have to do;

Leave your song suggestions below with your email address before Sunday 17th July when Adele and the Eden Voices creative team will pick a winning song to record as our charity single.

What do you win?

Well, we would love the winner to come to our Covent Garden studio in 
September, watch the song being rehearsed and join the team for champagne afterwards.

 
So, please help us and suggest a song to record!!!

Many thanks,

Jai & the Eden Voices team


www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk

Wednesday 15 June 2011

June 2011 - Eden Voices Singers in West End's 'Mamma Mia'

On Monday night I attended the new cast's opening night in the West End show 'Mamma Mia'. I was very proud to watch as the first character on stage was Eden Voices singer, Dani De Waal in the lead role of 'Sophie Sheridan'. I only had a short time to gather myself before Eden Voices singer, Hannah Fairclough entered the stage in the role of 'Ali'. The girls did a great job and no one would have known that it was their first night in their year long contracts. 


Both girls trained at Tring Park School for Performing Arts (formerly Arts Educational School) where I taught them on the Musical Theatre Course. When they left Tring they both became private pupils of mine and consequently singers for Eden Voices. Dani furthered her full time training by attending Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she got a BA (Hons) in Acting while Hannah went on tour for 2 years internationally with 'Mamma Mia'!

As an added bonus Sophie's boyfriend, Sky, in the show was played by Craig Fletcher, another ex pupil of Tring Park and now RADA graduate.
I have to say I was extremely proud of them all and it is great to witness students hard work paying off!!


Dani De Waal 
Sophie Sheridan


Dani and Hannah can both be heard singing in the audio clips at 
My teaching details can be found at 


Hannah Fairclough 
Ali









Craig Fletcher - Sky (on the right)
 in rehearsal for 'The Wild Party' 
at Tring Park




















Friday 10 June 2011

May 2011 - Kid-estorybooks & CBeebies star, Sarah Jane Honeywell





Fiona Treweeke of Kid-estorybooks, based in Australia, has written a series of children's story books to be made into an app for ipad. Eden Voices sourced Sarah Jane Honeywell, best known as comedy actress in Higgledy House and TV presenter on CBeebies, Tikkabilla, to do the voiceover for the first book. The Voiceover is now complete and the app is ready to download at 
 The rest of the series is on its way!







Fiona writes;
'Over the last 7 years, I've been inspired as Mum to Phoebe and Henry to write short stories for pre-school aged children.  I want to provide stories that offer effective repitition and rhyme that I know kids of this age enjoy so much.  Kids love to join in and effective rhyme makes it so easy for them to shout out the words and read along. My books also provide some subtle messages about  sharing, caring, trust and friendship. So, as the books stores sadly close down, I've decided to create my books in digital format. The beauty of the app is the ability to further engage children into the love of storytelling through interaction. Apps allow us to add value, as the delightful features of the book deliver a great learning tool.  The features of my book are designed to ensure that the stories can be loved, enjoyed and educational.

My stories are available for download to your iPad and other smart devices.  With options to 'read to me' or 'read it myself', the apps suit children from 2 -7 years.  My kids love the iPad or Dad's iPhone for those boring car journeys, restaurant trips, you know the occasions and I'm more than happy for them to enjoy a story, support their education and develop a love for reading
.'  

Childrens TV Presenter - Sarah Jane Honeywell



For more information visit: http://www.kidestorybooks.com

Eden Voices would like to wish Fiona Treweeke and Sarah Jane Honeywell 
every success with the project.



April 2011 - RAC Club, Pall Mall

RAC Club, London
Eden Voices provided a night of music for an exclusive party at the prestigious RAC Club on Pall Mall, kicking off the evening as the guests arrived with a jazz set of two voices and a pianist. After dinner while deserts were served Hannah Pedley (Eden Voices own Classical Advisor and Holland Park Opera's Carmen) and Jai Ramage (Eden Voices Director and vocal coach) performed intimate renditions of Lakme's Flower Duet and Bizet's Habenera to Simon Sharp's piano accompaniment (Eden Voices Musical Supervisor) for the 40 guests. The night changed pace as a rock/pop set was enjoyed involving three singers and the band Wicked Sister's fabulous guitarist Paul Green.

http://www.wickedsister.co.uk


Happy Birthday Helen, well I suppose you are only 40 once!!




December 2010 - Lingfield Races

An Eden Voices Trio were booked to entertain guests with accapella carols at Lingfield Racecourse on 18th December. The carollers learnt 20 carols, all in three part harmony, ranging from the traditional ones such as 'Once In Royal David's City' to a jazzy version of 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town'. 




Here are Sarah-May Elliott, Hayley Reed and Sally O'Brien in rehearsal for their 
carol extravaganza!!


November 2010 - Blake Concert

Seven Eden Voices singers joined the choir backing pop opera crossover group Blake on stage at The Beck Theatre in Hayes on 18th November. The boys sang a variety of songs from varying genres and the girls helped to please the audience with songs including the classics Jerusalem and Nessun Dorma. A thoroughly enjoyable evening!



October 2010 - Entangled











Eden Voices provided a keyboard/backing singer to perform in a music industry album launch for Entangled Music. The album, also named Entangled, was presented live for the first time at the beautiful Victorian Science Theatre at Salomans in Kent on 20th October. 
Entangled was written and performed by Luke Howard and Laura Bennett. They were also joined on stage for the event by talented musicians James Sedge, Andy Vickory, Neil Cornwall and Rob Harvey. Watch this space!



June 2010 - Big Gay Wedding

Moon River was the song of choice for Gari and Jon's first dance. The ceremony and reception were set in the glorious sixteenth century tithe barn at Brome Grange Hotel in Suffolk. The barn has a minstrels' gallery where the Eden Voices singer, complete with dress and tiara chosen by the happy couple, sang her rendition of the classic song from the film 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'.  Afterwards Gari and Jon were joined on the dance floor by their 120 guests for a night of dancing at the disco. A great time was had by all.

Many congratulations to Gari and Jon!


Eden Voices are now listed under Vocal Ensembles in The Big Gay Wedding Directory

May 2010 - Sonnet 155



In May 2010 at the Almieda Theatre, London, Tim Arnold released his new album ‘Sonnet 155’  in a theatrical experience combining musicians and actors. two ladies from Eden Voices performed the backing vocals for the World Premier run of this launch.
Cast included: 
Tim Arnold, Richard Briers, Lisa Dillon, Paul McGann, Janet Suzman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hattie Morahan




In early 2007 singer, songwriter Tim Arnold wrote over 30 individual letters to Shakespearean actors Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Richard Briers & Janet Suzman, asking ‘What theme in Shakespeare best described the human condition?’ Replies to his letters poured in and with the gentle help of those who have devoted their lives to working on and in Shakespeare's plays, Arnold formed the basis of what would become the album, Sonnet 155. The result is one man's personal navigation through these themes.
“Timeless sounds for our time...”
Michael Attenborough, Artistic Director, Almeida Theatre.